System and method for emergency calls initiated by voice command

ABSTRACT

A method of operating a digital assistant to provide emergency call functionality is provided. In some embodiments, the method is performed at a device including one or more processors and memory storing instructions for execution by the one or more processors. The method includes receiving a speech input from a user, determining whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call, and determining a local emergency dispatcher telephone number based on a geographic location of the device. The method also includes, in response to determining or obtaining a determination that the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call, calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Ser. No. 61/834,823, filed on Jun. 13, 2013, entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR EMERGENCY CALLS INITIATED BY VOICE COMMAND, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosed embodiments relate generally to digital assistants. More specifically, to a method and system for operating a digital assistant to provide emergency call functionality.

BACKGROUND

Recently, voice-based digital assistants, such as Apple's SIRI, have been introduced into the marketplace to handle various tasks such as web searching and navigation. Recent advances in natural language processing have enabled users to interact with digital assistants using natural language, in spoken or textual forms, rather than employing a conventional user interface (e.g., menus or programmed commands). Such digital assistants can interpret the user's input to deduce the user's intent; translate the deduced intent into actionable tasks and parameters; execute operations or deploy services to perform the tasks; and produce outputs that are intelligible to the user.

SUMMARY

Embodiments disclosed herein provide methods, devices, systems, and computer readable storage mediums for operating a digital assistant to provide emergency call functionality.

Some embodiments provide a method for operating a digital assistant to provide emergency call functionality. The method is performed at a device having memory and one or more processors. The method includes receiving a speech input from a user, determining or obtaining a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call, and determining or obtaining a determination of a local emergency dispatcher telephone number based on a geographic location of the device. The method further includes, in response to determining or obtaining a determination that the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call, calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using emergency call functionality.

In some embodiments, determining whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call is performed at a remote server, distinct from the device. In some embodiments, determining a local emergency dispatcher telephone number based on a geographic location of the device is performed at a remote server, distinct from the device. In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving a text input from the user.

In various circumstances, the method is performed while: the device has an active data connection; or the device does not have an active connection to a subscribed telephone service, but does have access to a baseband telephone service; or the device does not have an operating SIM card; or the device does not have a SIM card that is compatible with any telephony service available at the device's current location.

In some embodiments the method further includes, prior to determining or obtaining a determination of the local emergency dispatcher telephone number, ascertaining the geographic location of the device.

In some embodiments, the emergency dispatcher telephone number is one of a plurality of emergency dispatcher telephone numbers stored on the device.

In some embodiments, determining or obtaining a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call comprises determining or obtaining a determination of whether the speech input unambiguously expresses a user request for making an emergency call. In these embodiments, the method further includes, in response to a determination that the speech input unambiguously expresses a user request for an emergency call, without further user input, calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality; and, in response to a determination that the speech input does not unambiguously express a user request for an emergency call, prior to calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality, providing the user with a notification and an affordance for confirming the user's request for making an emergency call.

In some embodiments, determining or obtaining a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call comprises determining or obtaining a determination that the speech input is a user request for calling a first emergency number. In these embodiments, determining or obtaining a determination of a local emergency dispatcher telephone number based on a geographic location of the device comprises determining or obtaining a determination of a second emergency number; and, when the first emergency number is distinct from the second emergency number, calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality comprises calling the second emergency number.

In some embodiments, the method further includes, prior to calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number, providing a notification to the user that the device will promptly call the local emergency dispatcher telephone number; and, while providing the notification, providing an affordance for the user to cancel the request for making an emergency call.

In some embodiments, the method further includes, providing a limited natural language processing module within the digital assistant, wherein the limited natural language processing module differs from a primary natural language processing module used by the digital assistant during normal operation, and wherein the limited natural language processing module is tailored to recognize speech inputs for invoking the emergency call functionality.

In some embodiments, the method further includes, determining whether the device is currently authorized to make non-emergency telephone calls using a cellular service available at the current geographic location of the device; and, in response to determining that the device is not currently authorized to make non-emergency telephone calls using a cellular service available at the current geographic location of the device, invoking the limited natural language processing module to process the speech input.

Using a digital assistant in accordance with the methods described herein is more efficient and convenient than conventional user interfaces for providing emergency call functionality.

In accordance with some embodiments, a device includes one or more processors, memory, and one or more programs, where the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors. The one or more programs including instructions to receive a speech input from a user, determine or obtain a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call, and determine or obtain a determination of a local emergency dispatcher telephone number based on a geographic location of the device. The one or more programs further including instructions to, in response to determining or obtaining a determination that the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call, call the local emergency dispatcher telephone number. In some embodiments, the device does not have an active connection to a subscribed telephone service, but does have access to a baseband telephone service.

In accordance with some embodiments, a system includes one or more processors, memory, and one or more programs, where the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors. The one or more programs including instructions to, at a device, receive a speech input from a user. The one or more programs further including instructions to determine whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call, determine a local emergency dispatcher telephone number based on a geographic location of the device, and, in response to determining that the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call, call the local emergency dispatcher telephone number.

In accordance with some embodiments, a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable storage medium) is provided, the computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs for execution by one or more processors of an electronic device. The one or more programs, when executed by an electronic device, cause the device to receive a speech input from a user, determine or obtain a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call, and determine or obtain a determination of a local emergency dispatcher telephone number based on a geographic location of the device. The one or more programs further including instructions to, in response to determining or obtaining a determination that the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call, call the local emergency dispatcher telephone number.

In accordance with some embodiments, an information processing apparatus for use in an electronic device is provided, the information processing apparatus comprising means for performing any of the methods described herein.

In accordance with some embodiments, an electronic device comprises memory and a processing unit coupled to the memory. The processing unit configured to receive a speech input from a user, determine or obtain a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call, and determine or obtain a determination of a local emergency dispatcher telephone number based on a geographic location of the device. The processing unit is further configured to, in response to determining or obtaining a determination that the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call, call the local emergency dispatcher telephone number.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an environment in which a digital assistant operates in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a digital assistant client system in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3A is a block diagram illustrating a digital assistant system or a server portion thereof in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3B is a block diagram illustrating functions of the digital assistant shown in FIG. 3A in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3C is a graphical depiction of the ontology shown in FIG. 3B, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates a portable multifunction device having a touch screen in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 5A-5B illustrate exemplary user interfaces for displaying content associated with operating a digital assistant to provide emergency call functionality in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating functions of the digital assistant system in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 8 are flow charts illustrating methods for operating a digital assistant to provide emergency call functionality, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram of an electronic device in accordance with some embodiments.

Like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, circuits, and networks have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments.

It will also be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first contact could be termed a second contact, and, similarly, a second contact could be termed a first contact, without departing from the scope of the present invention. The first contact and the second contact are both contacts, but they are not the same contact.

The terminology used in the description of the invention herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used in the description of the invention and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that the term “and/or” as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It will be further understood that the terms “includes,” “including,” “comprises,” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

As used herein, the term “if” may be construed to mean “when” or “upon” or “in response to determining” or “in response to detecting,” depending on the context. Similarly, the phrase “if it is determined” or “if [a stated condition or event] is detected” may be construed to mean “upon determining” or “in response to determining” or “upon detecting [the stated condition or event]” or “in response to detecting [the stated condition or event],” depending on the context.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an operating environment 100 of a digital assistant according to some embodiments. The terms “digital assistant,” “virtual assistant,” “intelligent automated assistant,” or “automatic digital assistant,” refer to any information processing system that interprets natural language input in spoken and/or textual form to deduce user intent, and performs actions based on the deduced user intent. For example, to act on a deduced user intent, the system can perform one or more of the following: identifying a task flow with steps and parameters designed to accomplish the deduced user intent, inputting specific requirements from the deduced user intent into the task flow; executing the task flow by invoking programs, methods, services, APIs, or the like; and generating output responses to the user in an audible (e.g. speech) and/or visual form.

Specifically, a digital assistant is capable of accepting a user request at least partially in the form of a natural language command, request, statement, narrative, and/or inquiry. Typically, the user request seeks either an informational answer or performance of a task by the digital assistant. A satisfactory response to the user request is either provision of the requested informational answer, performance of the requested task, or a combination of the two. For example, a user may ask the digital assistant a question, such as “Where am I right now?” Based on the user's current location, the digital assistant may answer, “You are in Central Park near the west gate.” The user may also request the performance of a task, for example, “Please invite my friends to my girlfriend's birthday party next week.” In response, the digital assistant may acknowledge the request by saying “Yes, right away,” and then send a suitable calendar invite on behalf of the user to each of the user' friends listed in the user's electronic address book. During performance of a requested task, the digital assistant sometimes interacts with the user in a continuous dialogue involving multiple exchanges of information over an extended period of time. There are numerous other ways of interacting with a digital assistant to request information or performance of various tasks. In addition to providing verbal responses and taking programmed actions, the digital assistant also provides responses in other visual or audio forms, e.g., as text, alerts, music, videos, animations, etc.

An example of a digital assistant is described in Applicant's U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 12/987,982 for “Intelligent Automated Assistant,” filed Jan. 10, 2011, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

As shown in FIG. 1, in some embodiments, a digital assistant is implemented according to a client-server model. The digital assistant includes a client-side portion 102 a, 102 b (hereafter “DA client 102”) executed on a user device 104 a, 104 b, and a server-side portion 106 (hereafter “DA server 106”) executed on a server system 108. The DA client 102 communicates with the DA server 106 through one or more networks 110. The DA client 102 provides client-side functionalities such as user-facing input and output processing and communications with the DA-server 106. The DA server 106 provides server-side functionalities for any number of DA-clients 102 each residing on a respective user device 104.

In some embodiments, the DA server 106 includes a client-facing I/O interface 112, one or more processing modules 114, data and models 116, and an I/O interface to external services 118. The client-facing I/O interface facilitates the client-facing input and output processing for the digital assistant server 106. The one or more processing modules 114 utilize the data and models 116 to determine the user's intent based on natural language input and perform task execution based on deduced user intent. In some embodiments, the DA-server 106 communicates with external services 120 through the network(s) 110 for task completion or information acquisition. The I/O interface to external services 118 facilitates such communications.

Examples of the user device 104 include, but are not limited to, a handheld computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a cellular telephone, a smart phone, an enhanced general packet radio service (EGPRS) mobile phone, a media player, a navigation device, a game console, a television, a remote control, a portable multifunction device, or a combination of any two or more of these data processing devices or other data processing devices. More details on the user device 104 are provided in reference to an exemplary user device 104 shown in FIG. 2.

Examples of the communication network(s) 110 include local area networks (“LAN”) and wide area networks (“WAN”), e.g., the Internet. The communication network(s) 110 may be implemented using any known network protocol, including various wired or wireless protocols, such as e.g., Ethernet, Universal Serial Bus (USB), FIREWIRE, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, or any other suitable communication protocol.

The server system 108 is implemented on one or more standalone data processing apparatus or a distributed network of computers. In some embodiments, the server system 108 also employs various virtual devices and/or services of third party service providers (e.g., third-party cloud service providers) to provide the underlying computing resources and/or infrastructure resources of the server system 108.

Although the digital assistant shown in FIG. 1 includes both a client-side portion (e.g., the DA-client 102) and a server-side portion (e.g., the DA-server 106), in some embodiments, the functions of a digital assistant is implemented as a standalone application installed on a user device. In addition, the divisions of functionalities between the client and server portions of the digital assistant can vary in different embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, the DA client is a thin-client that provides only user-facing input and output processing functions, and delegates all other functionalities of the digital assistant to a backend server. In some embodiments, a digital assistant includes a limited natural language processing module implemented on the device. In some of these embodiments, the limited natural language processing module is used when the device is not authorized to make non-emergency telephone calls. In some of these embodiments, the limited natural language processing module is tailored to recognize speech inputs for invoking emergency call functionality.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a user device 104 in accordance with some embodiments. The user device 104 includes a memory interface 202, one or more processors 204, and a peripherals interface 206. The various components in the user device 104 are coupled by one or more communication buses or signal lines. The user device 104 includes various sensors, subsystems, and peripheral devices that are coupled to the peripherals interface 206. The sensors, subsystems, and peripheral devices gather information and/or facilitate various functionalities of the user device 104.

For example, a motion sensor 210, a light sensor 212, and a proximity sensor 214 are coupled to the peripherals interface 206 to facilitate orientation, light, and proximity sensing functions. One or more other sensors 216, such as a positioning system (e.g., GPS receiver), a temperature sensor, a biometric sensor, a gyro, a compass, an accelerometer, and the like, are also connected to the peripherals interface 206, to facilitate related functionalities.

In some embodiments, a camera subsystem 220 and an optical sensor 222 are utilized to facilitate camera functions, such as taking photographs and recording video clips. An audio subsystem 226 is coupled to speakers 228 and a microphone 230 to facilitate voice-enabled functions, such as voice recognition, voice replication, digital recording, and telephony functions.

In some embodiments, communication functions are facilitated through one or more wired and/or wireless communication subsystem(s) 224, which can include various communication ports, radio frequency receivers and transmitters, and/or optical (e.g., infrared) receivers and transmitters. In some embodiments, communication subsystem(s) 224 includes a baseband module for providing baseband telephony services. In some embodiments, baseband telephony services comprise telephony services available to users of the device, even when a user is not subscribed to, and/or authorized to use, any available cellular telephony services.

In some embodiments, an I/O subsystem 240 is also coupled to the peripheral interface 206. The I/O subsystem 240 includes a touch screen controller 242 and/or other input controller(s) 244. The touch-screen controller 242 is coupled to a touch screen 246. The touch screen 246 and the touch screen controller 242 can, for example, detect contact and movement or break thereof using any of a plurality of touch sensitivity technologies, such as capacitive, resistive, infrared, surface acoustic wave technologies, proximity sensor arrays, and the like. The other input controller(s) 244 can be coupled to other input/control devices 248, such as one or more buttons, rocker switches, thumb-wheel, infrared port, USB port, and/or a pointer device such as a stylus.

In some embodiments, the memory interface 202 is coupled to memory 250. The memory 250 can include high-speed random access memory and/or non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, one or more optical storage devices, and/or flash memory (e.g., NAND, NOR).

In some embodiments, the memory 250 stores an operating system 252, a communication module 254, a user interface module 256, a sensor processing module 258, a phone module 260, and applications 262. The operating system 252 includes instructions for handling basic system services and for performing hardware dependent tasks. The communication module 254 facilitates communicating with one or more additional devices, one or more computers and/or one or more servers. The user interface module 256 facilitates graphic user interface processing and output processing using other output channels (e.g., speakers). The sensor processing module 258 facilitates sensor-related processing and functions. The phone module 260 facilitates phone-related processes and functions. The application module 262 facilitates various functionalities of user applications, such as electronic-messaging, web browsing, media processing, Navigation, imaging and/or other processes and functions. In some embodiments, the memory 250 also stores an emergency call module 270. The emergency call module 270 provides data related to emergency calls (e.g., emergency dispatcher telephone numbers, emergency baseband connection protocols, etc.).

As described in this specification, the memory 250 also stores client-side digital assistant instructions (e.g., in a digital assistant client module 264) and various user data 266 (e.g., user-specific vocabulary data, preference data, and/or other data such as the user's electronic address book, to-do lists, shopping lists, etc.) to provide the client-side functionalities of the digital assistant. In some embodiments, the memory 250 also includes a limited language module 268 to provide limited digital assistant functionality (e.g., tailored to emergency call functionalities) at the device 104.

In various embodiments, the digital assistant client module 264 is capable of accepting voice input (e.g., speech input), text input, touch input, and/or gestural input through various user interfaces (e.g., the I/O subsystem 244) of the user device 104. The digital assistant client module 264 is also capable of providing output in audio (e.g., speech output), visual, and/or tactile forms. For example, output can be provided as voice, sound, alerts, text messages, menus, graphics, videos, animations, vibrations, and/or combinations of two or more of the above. During operation, the digital assistant client module 264 communicates with the digital assistant server using the communication subsystems 224.

In some embodiments, the digital assistant client module 264 utilizes the various sensors, subsystems and peripheral devices to gather additional information from the surrounding environment of the user device 104 to establish a context associated with a user, the current user interaction, and/or the current user input. In some embodiments, the digital assistant client module 264 provides the context information or a subset thereof with the user input to the digital assistant server to help deduce the user's intent. In some embodiments, the digital assistant also uses the context information to determine how to prepare and deliver outputs to the user.

In some embodiments, the context information that accompanies the user input includes sensor information, e.g., lighting, ambient noise, ambient temperature, images or videos of the surrounding environment, etc. In some embodiments, the context information also includes the physical state of the device, e.g., device orientation, device location, device temperature, power level, speed, acceleration, motion patterns, cellular signals strength, etc. In some embodiments, information related to the software state of the user device 106, e.g., running processes, installed programs, past and present network activities, background services, error logs, resources usage, etc., of the user device 104 are provided to the digital assistant server as context information associated with a user input.

In some embodiments, the DA client module 264 selectively provides information (e.g., user data 266) stored on the user device 104 in response to requests from the digital assistant server. In some embodiments, the digital assistant client module 264 also elicits additional input from the user via a natural language dialogue or other user interfaces upon request by the digital assistant server 106. The digital assistant client module 264 passes the additional input to the digital assistant server 106 to help the digital assistant server 106 in intent deduction and/or fulfillment of the user's intent expressed in the user request.

In various embodiments, the memory 250 includes additional instructions or fewer instructions. Furthermore, various functions of the user device 104 may be implemented in hardware and/or in firmware, including in one or more signal processing and/or application specific integrated circuits.

FIG. 3A is a block diagram of an example digital assistant system 300 in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the digital assistant system 300 is implemented on a standalone computer system. In some embodiments, the digital assistant system 300 is distributed across multiple computers. In some embodiments, some of the modules and functions of the digital assistant are divided into a server portion and a client portion, where the client portion resides on a user device (e.g., the user device 104) and communicates with the server portion (e.g., the server system 108) through one or more networks, e.g., as shown in FIG. 1. In some embodiments, the digital assistant system 300 is an embodiment of the server system 108 (and/or the digital assistant server 106) shown in FIG. 1. It should be noted that the digital assistant system 300 is only one example of a digital assistant system, and that the digital assistant system 300 may have more or fewer components than shown, may combine two or more components, or may have a different configuration or arrangement of the components. The various components shown in FIG. 3A may be implemented in hardware, software instructions for execution by one or more processors, firmware, including one or more signal processing and/or application specific integrated circuits, or a combination of thereof.

The digital assistant system 300 includes memory 302, one or more processors 304, an input/output (I/O) interface 306, and a network communications interface 308. These components communicate with one another over one or more communication buses or signal lines 310.

In some embodiments, the memory 302 includes a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as high-speed random access memory and/or a non-volatile computer readable storage medium (e.g., one or more magnetic disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-state memory devices).

In some embodiments, the I/O interface 306 couples input/output devices 316 of the digital assistant system 300, such as displays, a keyboards, touch screens, and microphones, to the user interface module 322. The I/O interface 306, in conjunction with the user interface module 322, receive user inputs (e.g., voice input, keyboard inputs, touch inputs, etc.) and process them accordingly. In some embodiments, e.g., when the digital assistant is implemented on a standalone user device, the digital assistant system 300 includes any of the components and I/O and communication interfaces described with respect to the user device 104 in FIG. 2. In some embodiments, the digital assistant system 300 represents the server portion of a digital assistant implementation, and interacts with the user through a client-side portion residing on a user device (e.g., the user device 104 shown in FIG. 2).

In some embodiments, the network communications interface 308 includes wired communication port(s) 312 and/or wireless transmission and reception circuitry 314. The wired communication port(s) receive and send communication signals via one or more wired interfaces, e.g., Ethernet, Universal Serial Bus (USB), FIREWIRE, etc. The wireless circuitry 314 receives and sends RF signals and/or optical signals from/to communications networks and other communications devices. The wireless communications may use any of a plurality of communications standards, protocols and technologies, such as GSM, EDGE, CDMA, TDMA, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, VoIP, Wi-MAX, or any other suitable communication protocol. The network communications interface 308 enables communication between the digital assistant system 300 with networks, such as the Internet, an intranet and/or a wireless network, such as a cellular telephone network, a wireless local area network (LAN) and/or a metropolitan area network (MAN), and other devices.

In some embodiments, memory 302, or the computer readable storage media of memory 302, stores programs, modules, instructions, and data structures including all or a subset of: an operating system 318, a communications module 320, a user interface module 322, one or more applications 324, and a digital assistant module 326. The one or more processors 304 execute these programs, modules, and instructions, and reads/writes from/to the data structures.

The operating system 318 (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, OS X, WINDOWS, or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks) includes various software components and/or drivers for controlling and managing general system tasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control, power management, etc.) and facilitates communications between various hardware, firmware, and software components.

The communications module 320 facilitates communications between the digital assistant system 300 with other devices over the network communications interface 308. For example, the communication module 320 may communicate with the communication interface 254 of the device 104 shown in FIG. 2. The communications module 320 also includes various components for handling data received by the wireless circuitry 314 and/or wired communications port 312.

The user interface module 322 receives commands and/or inputs from a user via the I/O interface 306 (e.g., from a keyboard, touch screen, pointing device, controller, and/or microphone), and generates user interface objects on a display. The user interface module 322 also prepares and delivers outputs (e.g., speech, sound, animation, text, icons, vibrations, haptic feedback, and light, etc.) to the user via the I/O interface 306 (e.g., through displays, audio channels, speakers, and touch-pads, etc.).

The applications 324 include programs and/or modules that are configured to be executed by the one or more processors 304. For example, if the digital assistant system is implemented on a standalone user device, the applications 324 may include user applications, such as games, a calendar application, a navigation application, or an email application. If the digital assistant system 300 is implemented on a server farm, the applications 324 may include resource management applications, diagnostic applications, or scheduling applications, for example.

The memory 302 also stores the digital assistant module (or the server portion of a digital assistant) 326. In some embodiments, the digital assistant module 326 includes the following sub-modules, or a subset or superset thereof: an input/output processing module 328, a speech-to-text (STT) processing module 330, a natural language processing module 332, a dialogue flow processing module 334, a task flow processing module 336, a service processing module 338, and an interruption handling module 340. Each of these modules has access to one or more of the following data and models of the digital assistant 326, or a subset or superset thereof: ontology 360, vocabulary index 344, user data 348, task flow models 354, service models 356, and priority parameters database 358. In some embodiments, the memory 302 also stores a limited language processing module 366. In some embodiments, the limited language processing module 366 has access to a subset of: ontology 360, vocabulary index 344, user data 348, task flow models 354, service models 356, and priority parameters database 358. In some embodiments, the limited language processing module 366 is tailored to recognize speech inputs for invoking the emergency call functionality (e.g., include a limited vocabulary index primarily containing vocabulary related to emergency situations).

In some embodiments, the limited language processing module 366 is utilized by digital assistant system 300 when the natural language processing module 332 (or a part thereof) is unavailable (e.g., due to the lack of an active data connection) and/or inoperable.

In some embodiments, using the processing modules, data, and models implemented in the digital assistant module 326, the digital assistant performs at least some of the following: identifying a user's intent expressed in a natural language input received from the user; actively eliciting and obtaining information needed to fully deduce the user's intent (e.g., by disambiguating words, names, intentions, etc.); determining the task flow for fulfilling the deduced intent; and executing the task flow to fulfill the deduced intent.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3B, the I/O processing module 328 interacts with the user through the I/O devices 316 in FIG. 3A or with a user device (e.g., a user device 104 in FIG. 1) through the network communications interface 308 in FIG. 3A to obtain user input (e.g., a speech input) and to provide responses (e.g., as speech outputs) to the user input. The I/O processing module 328 optionally obtains context information associated with the user input from the user device, along with or shortly after the receipt of the user input. The context information includes user-specific data, vocabulary, and/or preferences relevant to the user input. In some embodiments, the context information also includes software and hardware states of the device (e.g., the user device 104 in FIG. 1) at the time the user request is received, and/or information related to the surrounding environment of the user at the time that the user request was received. In some embodiments, the I/O processing module 328 also sends follow-up questions to, and receives answers from, the user regarding the user request. When a user request is received by the I/O processing module 328 and the user request contains a speech input, the I/O processing module 328 forwards the speech input to the speech-to-text (STT) processing module 330 for speech-to-text conversions.

The speech-to-text processing module 330 receives speech input (e.g., a user utterance captured in a voice recording) through the I/O processing module 328. In some embodiments, the speech-to-text processing module 330 uses various acoustic and language models to recognize the speech input as a sequence of phonemes, and ultimately, a sequence of words or tokens written in one or more languages. The speech-to-text processing module 330 can be implemented using any suitable speech recognition techniques, acoustic models, and language models, such as Hidden Markov Models, Dynamic Time Warping (DTW)-based speech recognition, and other statistical and/or analytical techniques. In some embodiments, the speech-to-text processing can be performed at least partially by a third party service or on the user's device. Once the speech-to-text processing module 330 obtains the result of the speech-to-text processing, e.g., a sequence of words or tokens, it passes the result to the natural language processing module 332 for intent deduction.

More details on the speech-to-text processing are described in U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 13/236,942 for “Consolidating Speech Recognition Results,” filed on Sep. 20, 2011, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

The natural language processing module 332 (“natural language processor”) of the digital assistant takes the sequence of words or tokens (“token sequence”) generated by the speech-to-text processing module 330, and attempts to associate the token sequence with one or more “actionable intents” recognized by the digital assistant. An “actionable intent” represents a task that can be performed by the digital assistant, and has an associated task flow implemented in the task flow models 354. The associated task flow is a series of programmed actions and steps that the digital assistant takes in order to perform the task. The scope of a digital assistant's capabilities is dependent on the number and variety of task flows that have been implemented and stored in the task flow models 354, or in other words, on the number and variety of “actionable intents” that the digital assistant recognizes. The effectiveness of the digital assistant, however, is also dependent on the assistant's ability to deduce the correct “actionable intent(s)” from the user request expressed in natural language.

In some embodiments, in addition to the sequence of words or tokens obtained from the speech-to-text processing module 330, the natural language processor 332 also receives context information associated with the user request, e.g., from the I/O processing module 328. The natural language processor 332 optionally uses the context information to clarify, supplement, and/or further define the information contained in the token sequence received from the speech-to-text processing module 330. The context information includes, for example, user preferences, hardware and/or software states of the user device, sensor information collected before, during, or shortly after the user request, prior interactions (e.g., dialogue) between the digital assistant and the user, and the like. As described in this specification, context information is dynamic, and can change with time, location, content of the dialogue, and other factors.

In some embodiments, the natural language processing is based on ontology 360. The ontology 360 is a hierarchical structure containing many nodes, each node representing either an “actionable intent” or a “property” relevant to one or more of the “actionable intents” or other “properties”. As noted above, an “actionable intent” represents a task that the digital assistant is capable of performing, i.e., it is “actionable” or can be acted on. A “property” represents a parameter associated with an actionable intent or a sub-aspect of another property. A linkage between an actionable intent node and a property node in the ontology 360 defines how a parameter represented by the property node pertains to the task represented by the actionable intent node.

In some embodiments, the ontology 360 is made up of actionable intent nodes and property nodes. Within the ontology 360, each actionable intent node is linked to one or more property nodes either directly or through one or more intermediate property nodes. Similarly, each property node is linked to one or more actionable intent nodes either directly or through one or more intermediate property nodes. For example, as shown in FIG. 3C, the ontology 360 may include a “restaurant reservation” node (i.e., an actionable intent node). Property nodes “restaurant,” “date/time” (for the reservation), and “party size” are each directly linked to the actionable intent node (i.e., the “restaurant reservation” node). In addition, property nodes “cuisine,” “price range,” “phone number,” and “location” are sub-nodes of the property node “restaurant,” and are each linked to the “restaurant reservation” node (i.e., the actionable intent node) through the intermediate property node “restaurant.” For another example, as shown in FIG. 3C, the ontology 360 may also include a “set reminder” node (i.e., another actionable intent node). Property nodes “date/time” (for the setting the reminder) and “subject” (for the reminder) are each linked to the “set reminder” node. Since the property “date/time” is relevant to both the task of making a restaurant reservation and the task of setting a reminder, the property node “date/time” is linked to both the “restaurant reservation” node and the “set reminder” node in the ontology 360.

An actionable intent node, along with its linked concept nodes, may be described as a “domain.” In the present discussion, each domain is associated with a respective actionable intent, and refers to the group of nodes (and the relationships between the nodes) associated with the particular actionable intent. For example, the ontology 360 shown in FIG. 3C includes an example of a restaurant reservation domain 362 and an example of a reminder domain 364 within the ontology 360. The restaurant reservation domain includes the actionable intent node “restaurant reservation,” property nodes “restaurant,” “date/time,” and “party size,” and sub-property nodes “cuisine,” “price range,” “phone number,” and “location.” The reminder domain 364 includes the actionable intent node “set reminder,” and property nodes “subject” and “date/time.” In some embodiments, the ontology 360 is made up of many domains. Each domain may share one or more property nodes with one or more other domains. For example, the “date/time” property node may be associated with many different domains (e.g., a scheduling domain, a travel reservation domain, a movie ticket domain, etc.), in addition to the restaurant reservation domain 362 and the reminder domain 364.

While FIG. 3C illustrates two example domains within the ontology 360, other domains (or actionable intents) include, for example, “initiate a phone call,” “find directions,” “schedule a meeting,” “send a message,” and “provide an answer to a question,” “read a list,” “providing navigation instructions,” “provide instructions for a task,” and so on. A “send a message” domain is associated with a “send a message” actionable intent node, and may further include property nodes such as “recipient(s),” “message type,” and “message body.” The property node “recipient” may be further defined, for example, by the sub-property nodes such as “recipient name” and “message address.”

In some embodiments, the ontology 360 includes all the domains (and hence actionable intents) that the digital assistant is capable of understanding and acting upon. In some embodiments, the ontology 360 may be modified, such as by adding or removing entire domains or nodes, or by modifying relationships between the nodes within the ontology 360.

In some embodiments, nodes associated with multiple related actionable intents may be clustered under a “super domain” in the ontology 360. For example, a “travel” super-domain may include a cluster of property nodes and actionable intent nodes related to travels. The actionable intent nodes related to travels may include “airline reservation,” “hotel reservation,” “car rental,” “get directions,” “find points of interest,” and so on. The actionable intent nodes under the same super domain (e.g., the “travels” super domain) may have many property nodes in common. For example, the actionable intent nodes for “airline reservation,” “hotel reservation,” “car rental,” “get directions,” “find points of interest” may share one or more of the property nodes “start location,” “destination,” “departure date/time,” “arrival date/time,” and “party size.”

In some embodiments, each node in the ontology 360 is associated with a set of words and/or phrases that are relevant to the property or actionable intent represented by the node. The respective set of words and/or phrases associated with each node is the so-called “vocabulary” associated with the node. The respective set of words and/or phrases associated with each node can be stored in the vocabulary index 344 in association with the property or actionable intent represented by the node. For example, returning to FIG. 3B, the vocabulary associated with the node for the property of “restaurant” may include words such as “food,” “drinks,” “cuisine,” “hungry,” “eat,” “pizza,” “fast food,” “meal,” and so on. For another example, the vocabulary associated with the node for the actionable intent of “initiate a phone call” may include words and phrases such as “call,” “phone,” “dial,” “ring,” “call this number,” “make a call to,” and so on. The vocabulary index 344 optionally includes words and phrases in different languages.

The natural language processor 332 receives the token sequence (e.g., a text string) from the speech-to-text processing module 330, and determines what nodes are implicated by the words in the token sequence. In some embodiments, if a word or phrase in the token sequence is found to be associated with one or more nodes in the ontology 360 (via the vocabulary index 344), the word or phrase will “trigger” or “activate” those nodes. Based on the quantity and/or relative importance of the activated nodes, the natural language processor 332 will select one of the actionable intents as the task that the user intended the digital assistant to perform. In some embodiments, the domain that has the most “triggered” nodes is selected. In some embodiments, the domain having the highest confidence value (e.g., based on the relative importance of its various triggered nodes) is selected. In some embodiments, the domain is selected based on a combination of the number and the importance of the triggered nodes. In some embodiments, additional factors are considered in selecting the node as well, such as whether the digital assistant has previously correctly interpreted a similar request from a user.

In some embodiments, the digital assistant also stores names of specific entities in the vocabulary index 344, so that when one of these names is detected in the user request, the natural language processor 332 will be able to recognize that the name refers to a specific instance of a property or sub-property in the ontology. In some embodiments, the names of specific entities are names of businesses, restaurants, people, movies, and the like. In some embodiments, the digital assistant searches and identifies specific entity names from other data sources, such as the user's address book, a movies database, a musicians database, and/or a restaurant database. In some embodiments, when the natural language processor 332 identifies that a word in the token sequence is a name of a specific entity (such as a name in the user's address book), that word is given additional significance in selecting the actionable intent within the ontology for the user request.

For example, when the words “Mr. Santo” are recognized from the user request, and the last name “Santo” is found in the vocabulary index 344 as one of the contacts in the user's contact list, then it is likely that the user request corresponds to a “send a message” or “initiate a phone call” domain. For another example, when the words “ABC Café” are found in the user request, and the term “ABC Cafe” is found in the vocabulary index 344 as the name of a particular restaurant in the user's city, then it is likely that the user request corresponds to a “restaurant reservation” domain.

User data 348 includes user-specific information, such as user-specific vocabulary, user preferences, user address, user's default and secondary languages, user's contact list, and other short-term or long-term information for each user. In some embodiments, the natural language processor 332 uses the user-specific information to supplement the information contained in the user input to further define the user intent. For example, for a user request “invite my friends to my birthday party,” the natural language processor 332 is able to access user data 348 to determine who the “friends” are and when and where the “birthday party” would be held, rather than requiring the user to provide such information explicitly in his/her request.

Other details of searching an ontology based on a token string is described in U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 12/341,743 for “Method and Apparatus for Searching Using An Active Ontology,” filed Dec. 22, 2008, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

In some embodiments, once the natural language processor 332 identifies an actionable intent (or domain) based on the user request, the natural language processor 332 generates a structured query to represent the identified actionable intent. In some embodiments, the structured query includes parameters for one or more nodes within the domain for the actionable intent, and at least some of the parameters are populated with the specific information and requirements specified in the user request. For example, the user may say “Make me a dinner reservation at a sushi place at 7.” In this case, the natural language processor 332 may be able to correctly identify the actionable intent to be “restaurant reservation” based on the user input. According to the ontology, a structured query for a “restaurant reservation” domain may include parameters such as {Cuisine}, {Time}, {Date}, {Party Size}, and the like. In some embodiments, based on the information contained in the user's utterance, the natural language processor 332 generates a partial structured query for the restaurant reservation domain, where the partial structured query includes the parameters {Cuisine=“Sushi”} and {Time=“7 pm”}. However, in this example, the user's utterance contains insufficient information to complete the structured query associated with the domain. Therefore, other necessary parameters such as {Party Size} and {Date} are not specified in the structured query based on the information currently available. In some embodiments, the natural language processor 332 populates some parameters of the structured query with received context information. For example, in some embodiments, if the user requested a sushi restaurant “near me,” the natural language processor 332 populates a {location} parameter in the structured query with GPS coordinates from the user device 104.

In some embodiments, the natural language processor 332 passes the structured query (including any completed parameters) to the task flow processing module 336 (“task flow processor”). The task flow processor 336 is configured to receive the structured query from the natural language processor 332, complete the structured query, if necessary, and perform the actions required to “complete” the user's ultimate request. In some embodiments, the various procedures necessary to complete these tasks are provided in task flow models 354. In some embodiments, the task flow models include procedures for obtaining additional information from the user, and task flows for performing actions associated with the actionable intent.

As described above, in order to complete a structured query, the task flow processor 336 may need to initiate additional dialogue with the user in order to obtain additional information, and/or disambiguate potentially ambiguous utterances. When such interactions are necessary, the task flow processor 336 invokes the dialogue processing module 334 (“dialogue processor 334”) to engage in a dialogue with the user. In some embodiments, the dialogue processor 334 determines how (and/or when) to ask the user for the additional information, and receives and processes the user responses. The questions are provided to and answers are received from the users through the I/O processing module 328. In some embodiments, the dialogue processor 334 presents dialogue output to the user via audio and/or visual output, and receives input from the user via spoken or physical (e.g., clicking) responses. Continuing with the example above, when the task flow processor 336 invokes the dialogue flow processor 334 to determine the “party size” and “date” information for the structured query associated with the domain “restaurant reservation,” the dialogue flow processor 335 generates questions such as “For how many people?” and “On which day?” to pass to the user. Once answers are received from the user, the dialogue flow processor 334 can then populate the structured query with the missing information, or pass the information to the task flow processor 336 to complete the missing information from the structured query.

In some cases, the task flow processor 336 may receive a structured query that has one or more ambiguous properties. For example, a structured query for the “send a message” domain may indicate that the intended recipient is “Bob,” and the user may have multiple contacts named “Bob.” The task flow processor 336 will request that the dialogue processor 334 disambiguate this property of the structured query. In turn, the dialogue processor 334 may ask the user “Which Bob?”, and display (or read) a list of contacts named “Bob” from which the user may choose.

Once the task flow processor 336 has completed the structured query for an actionable intent, the task flow processor 336 proceeds to perform the ultimate task associated with the actionable intent. Accordingly, the task flow processor 336 executes the steps and instructions in the task flow model according to the specific parameters contained in the structured query. For example, the task flow model for the actionable intent of “restaurant reservation” may include steps and instructions for contacting a restaurant and actually requesting a reservation for a particular party size at a particular time. For example, using a structured query such as: {restaurant reservation, restaurant=ABC Café, date=3/12/2012, time=7 pm, party size=5}, the task flow processor 336 may perform the steps of: (1) logging onto a server of the ABC Cafe or a restaurant reservation system such as OPENTABLE®, (2) entering the date, time, and party size information in a form on the website, (3) submitting the form, and (4) making a calendar entry for the reservation in the user's calendar.

In some embodiments, the task flow processor 336 employs the assistance of a service processing module 338 (“service processor”) to complete a task requested in the user input or to provide an informational answer requested in the user input. For example, the service processor 338 can act on behalf of the task flow processor 336 to make a phone call, set a calendar entry, invoke a map search, invoke or interact with other user applications installed on the user device, and invoke or interact with third party services (e.g. a restaurant reservation portal, a social networking website, a banking portal, etc.). In some embodiments, the protocols and application programming interfaces (API) required by each service can be specified by a respective service model among the services models 356. The service processor 338 accesses the appropriate service model for a service and generates requests for the service in accordance with the protocols and APIs required by the service according to the service model.

For example, if a restaurant has enabled an online reservation service, the restaurant can submit a service model specifying the necessary parameters for making a reservation and the APIs for communicating the values of the necessary parameter to the online reservation service. When requested by the task flow processor 336, the service processor 338 can establish a network connection with the online reservation service using the web address stored in the service model, and send the necessary parameters of the reservation (e.g., time, date, party size) to the online reservation interface in a format according to the API of the online reservation service.

In some embodiments, the natural language processor 332, dialogue processor 334, and task flow processor 336 are used collectively and iteratively to deduce and define the user's intent, obtain information to further clarify and refine the user intent, and finally generate a response (i.e., an output to the user, or the completion of a task) to fulfill the user's intent.

In some embodiments, after all of the tasks needed to fulfill the user's request have been performed, the digital assistant 326 formulates a confirmation response, and sends the response back to the user through the I/O processing module 328. If the user request seeks an informational answer, the confirmation response presents the requested information to the user. In some embodiments, the digital assistant also requests the user to indicate whether the user is satisfied with the response produced by the digital assistant 326.

More details on the digital assistant can be found in the U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 12/987,982, entitled “Intelligent Automated Assistant”, filed Jan. 18, 2010, U.S. Utility Application No. 61/493,201, entitled “Generating and Processing Data Items That Represent Tasks to Perform”, filed Jun. 3, 2011, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Attention is now directed to FIG. 4 showing portable multifunction device 400 (e.g., user device 104) having touch screen 246, in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the touch screen displays one or more graphics within a user interface (UI). In these embodiments, as well as others described below, a user selects one or more of the graphics by making contact or touching the graphics, for example, with one or more fingers 402 (not drawn to scale in the figure) or one or more styluses 403 (not drawn to scale in the figure). In some embodiments, selection of one or more graphics occurs when the user breaks contact with the one or more graphics. In some embodiments, the contact includes a gesture, such as one or more taps, one or more swipes (from left to right, right to left, upward and/or downward) and/or a rolling of a finger (from right to left, left to right, upward and/or downward) that has made contact with device 400. In some embodiments, inadvertent contact with a graphic will not select the graphic. For example, a swipe gesture that sweeps over an application icon will not select the corresponding application when the gesture corresponding to selection is a tap.

In some embodiments, device 400 also includes one or more physical buttons, such as menu (e.g., “Home”) button 404. Menu button 404 is used to navigate to any application 262 in a set of applications that may be executed on device 400. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the menu button is implemented as a soft key in a GUI displayed on touch screen 246.

In some embodiments, device 400 includes touch screen 246, menu button 404, push button 406 for powering the device on/off and locking the device, volume adjustment button(s) 408, Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card slot 410, head set jack 412, and docking/charging external port 411. Push button 406 may be used to turn the power on/off on the device by depressing the button and holding the button in the depressed state for a predefined time interval; to lock the device by depressing the button and releasing the button before the predefined time interval has elapsed; and/or to unlock the device or initiate an unlock process. In an alternative embodiment, device 400 also may accept verbal input for activation or deactivation of some functions through microphone 230.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate exemplary user interfaces for displaying content associated with operating a digital assistant to provide emergency call functionality in accordance with some embodiments. In FIGS. 5A and 5B, user interface 500 is displayed on touch screen 246. User interface 500 includes telephony (e.g., cellular) signal strength indicator 510, baseband telephony service indicator 512, data service connection indicator 514 (e.g., 3G or 4G data connections), Wi-Fi connection and signal strength indicator 516, and global positioning system (“GPS”) indicator 518. In accordance with some embodiments, FIG. 5A also shows user interface 500 including notification 520 and cancel button 522. In accordance with some other embodiments, FIG. 5B shows user interface 500 including emergency inquiry 524, confirm (e.g., yes) button 526, and no button 528.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating functions of the digital assistant system in accordance with some embodiments. In accordance with these embodiments, a device (e.g., portable multifunction device 400) receives (602) a speech input from a user.

In some embodiments or circumstances, a server (e.g., server system 108, FIG. 1) determines (603) whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call. In these embodiments, the device obtains (604) the determination from the server. However, in some embodiments or circumstances, the device determines (604) whether the speech input expresses a user request for making (or, alternatively, expresses a user intent to make) an emergency call. Examples of speech input that expresses a request or an intent to make an emergency call include “call 911” and “call the police,” as well as various expressions (“we need the police right away”) of a user's intent to make an emergency call even if the speech input does not include an explicit request or command to make such a call.

In some embodiments or circumstances, the server determines (605) whether the speech input unambiguously expresses a user request for making an emergency call. In these embodiments or circumstances, the device obtains (606) the determination from the server. In some embodiments or circumstances, the device determines (606) whether the speech input unambiguously expresses a user request for making an emergency call.

In some embodiments, the server determines (607) a local emergency dispatcher telephone number based on a geographic location of the device. In these embodiments, the device obtains (608) the determination from the server. In some embodiments, the device determines (608) a local emergency dispatcher telephone number based on a geographic location of the device.

In some embodiments, in response to determining that the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call (610), the device calls the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality (e.g., emergency call module 270 in FIG. 2).

FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 8 are flow diagrams representing methods for operating a digital assistant to provide emergency call functionality, in accordance with some embodiments. The methods are, optionally, governed by instructions that are stored in a computer memory or non-transitory computer readable storage medium (e.g., memory 250 of user device 104, memory 302 associated with the digital assistant system 300) and that are executed by one or more processors of one or more computer systems of a digital assistant system, including, but not limited to, the server system 108, and/or the user device 104. The computer readable storage medium optionally include a magnetic or optical disk storage device, solid state storage devices such as Flash memory, or other non-volatile memory device or devices. The computer readable instructions stored on the computer readable storage medium optionally include one or more of: source code, assembly language code, object code, or other instruction format that is interpreted by one or more processors. In various implementations, some operations in each method are combined and/or the order of some operations is changed from the order shown in the figures. Also, in some implementations, operations shown in separate figures and/or discussed in association with separate methods are combined to form other methods, and operations shown in the same figure and/or discussed in association with the same method are separated into different methods. Moreover, in some implementations, one or more operations in the methods are performed by modules of the digital assistant system 300 and/or an electronic device (e.g., user device 104), including, for example, the natural language processing module 332, the dialogue flow processing module 334, the limited language processing module 366, the emergency call module 270, the limited language module 268, and/or any sub modules thereof.

FIGS. 7A-7B illustrate method 700 for operating a digital assistant to provide emergency call functionality, in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, method 700 is performed at a device including one or more processors and memory storing instructions for execution by the one or more processors (e.g., device 104 in FIG. 1).

In some embodiments, the device provides (702) a limited natural language processing module within the digital assistant (e.g., limited language module 268). The limited natural language processing module differs from a primary natural language processing module used by the digital assistant during normal operation, and in particular, the limited natural language processing module is tailored to recognize speech inputs for invoking the emergency call functionality.

The device receives (704) an input (e.g., via speech, text, and/or gestures, etc.) from a user.

In some embodiments or circumstances, the device has (706) an active data connection (e.g., a 2G, 3G, 4G, 4G LTE, and/or Wi-Fi connection). For example, device 400 has an active data connection as denoted by data service connection indicator 514 and/or Wi-Fi connection and signal strength indicator 516 in FIG. 5A. In some embodiments or circumstances, the device does not (708) have an active connection to a subscribed telephone service, but does have access to a baseband telephone service. For example, in accordance with these embodiments, in FIG. 5A, baseband telephony service indicator 512 on device 400 indicates that device 400 has access to a baseband telephone service.

In some embodiments or circumstances, the device does not have (710) an operating SIM card (e.g., does not have an operating SIM card in SIM Card Slot 410 in FIG. 4). For example, in some implementations, the device calls the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using a baseband telephone service when (e.g., in accordance with a determination that) the device does not have an operating SIM card. In some embodiments or circumstances, the device does not have (712) a SIM card that is compatible with any telephony service available at the device's current location. For example, in some implementations, the device calls the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using a baseband telephone service when (e.g., in accordance with a determination that) the device does not have a SIM card that is compatible with any telephony service available at the device's current location.

In some embodiments, the device determines (714) whether the device is currently authorized to make non-emergency telephone calls using a cellular service available at the current geographic location of the device. In response to determining (716) that the device is not currently authorized to make non-emergency telephone calls using a telephony service (e.g., a cellular service) available at the current geographic location of the device and determining that the user input comprises speech input, the device invokes (718) the limited natural language processing module to process the speech input.

The device determines or obtains a determination (720) of whether the user input (e.g., speech input) expresses a user request for making an emergency call. For example, in some embodiments, determining of whether the user input expresses a user request for making an emergency call includes obtaining, from a remote server, via an active data connection, a determination of whether the user input expresses a user request for making an emergency call. In some embodiments or circumstances, the device locally determines whether the user input expresses a user request for making an emergency call.

In some embodiments, prior to determining or obtaining a determination of a local emergency dispatcher telephone number, the device ascertains (722) the geographic location of the device. For example, in some embodiments or circumstances, the device ascertains the geographic location of the device via a GPS sensor (e.g., a sensor 216). In some embodiments or circumstances, the device ascertains the geographic location of the device based on the location of the nearest telephony service tower. In some embodiments or circumstances, the device ascertains the geographic location of the device based on the location of a Wi-Fi service provider.

The device determines or obtains a determination (724) of the local emergency dispatcher telephone number based on the geographic location of the device. For example, in some embodiments, the device utilizes an emergency number look-up table stored on a remote server. In some embodiments, the emergency dispatcher telephone number is (726) one of a plurality of emergency dispatcher telephone numbers stored on the device.

In response to determining or obtaining a determination (728) that the user input expresses a user request for making an emergency call, the device calls (734) the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality (e.g., via a baseband telephone service).

In some embodiments, prior to calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number, the device provides (730) a notification to the user that the device will promptly call the local emergency dispatcher telephone number. While providing the notification, the device provides (732) an affordance for the user to cancel the request for making an emergency call. For example, in some embodiments, the device displays a five second countdown notification (e.g., notification 520 in FIG. 5A) and an affordance to cancel the pending emergency call (e.g., cancel button 522 and/or Home button 404 in FIG. 5A). In some implementations, the device will provide verbal notification and/or utilize verbal cancellation from the user.

FIG. 8 illustrates methods 800 and 810 for operating a digital assistant to provide emergency call functionality, in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, methods 800 and 810 are performed at a device including one or more processors and memory storing instructions for execution by the one or more processors (e.g., device 104 in FIG. 1).

In some embodiments, determining or obtaining a determination of whether the user input expresses a user request for making an emergency call (720) comprises determining or obtaining a determination (802) of whether the user input unambiguously expresses a user request for making an emergency call.

In some embodiments, in response to a determination that the user input unambiguously expresses a user request for an emergency call, without further user input, (804) the device calls (734) the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality. For example, the user input is a speech input saying “call 911” and, without further user input, the device determines that 911 is the appropriate emergency dispatcher number and the device calls 911.

In some embodiments, in response to a determination that the user input does not unambiguously express a user request for an emergency call, (806) prior to calling (734) the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality, the device provides (808) the user with a notification and an affordance for confirming the user's request for making an emergency call. For example, the user input is “find fire departments near here” and the device provides a emergency inquiry (e.g., confirmation inquiry 524 in FIG. 5B) and an affordance for confirming (e.g., confirm button 526 in FIG. 5B). In some implementations, the device will provide verbal notification and/or utilize verbal confirmation from the user.

In some embodiments, determining or obtaining a determination of whether the user input expresses a user request for making an emergency call (720) comprises determining or obtaining a determination (812) that the user input is a user request for calling a first emergency number. For example, the user input is “call 911” and the device determines that “911” is the first emergency number.

In some embodiments, determining or obtaining a determination of the local emergency dispatcher telephone number based on a geographic location of the device (724) comprises determining or obtaining a determination (814) of a second emergency number. When the first emergency number is distinct from the second emergency number, the device calls (816) the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality comprises calling the second emergency number. For example, the device determines it is currently located in Singapore and that the appropriate emergency dispatch number is 995. In this example, the device then calls 995.

Using a digital assistant in accordance with the methods described above is more efficient and convenient than conventional user interfaces for providing emergency call functionality.

FIG. 9 shows, in accordance with some embodiments, a functional block diagram of a device 900 configured in accordance with the principles of the invention as described above. The functional blocks of the device may be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software to carry out the principles of the invention. It is understood by persons of skill in the art that the functional blocks described in FIG. 9 may be combined or separated into sub-blocks to implement the principles of the invention as described above. Therefore, the description herein may support any possible combination or separation or further definition of the functional blocks described herein.

As shown in FIG. 9, device 900 includes sound receiving unit 902 configured to receive sound input. Device 900 also includes processing unit 906 coupled to sound receiving unit 902. In some embodiments, obtaining unit 904 is coupled to sound receiving unit 902 and processing unit 906. In some embodiments, processing unit 906 includes speech determining unit 908, number determining unit 910, calling unit 912, ascertaining unit 914, ambiguity determining unit 916, affordance providing unit 918, notification providing unit 920, and language providing unit 922. In some embodiments, number determining unit 910 corresponds to emergency call module 270. In some embodiments, ambiguity determining unit 916 corresponds to natural language processing module 332. In some embodiments, ambiguity determining unit 916 corresponds to limited language processing module 366. In some embodiments, obtaining unit 904 corresponds to I/O subsystem 240. In some embodiments, affordance providing unit 918 is or includes notification providing unit 920. In some embodiments, speech determining unit 908 is or includes ambiguity determining unit 916.

Processing unit 906 is configured to: receive (e.g., with sound receiving unit 902) a speech input from a user; determine (e.g., with speech determining unit 908) or obtain a determination (e.g., with obtaining unit 902) of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call; and determine (e.g., with number determining unit 910) or obtain a determination (e.g., with obtaining unit 902) of a local emergency dispatcher telephone number based on a geographic location of device 900. Processing unit 906 is further configured to, in response to determining or obtaining a determination that the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call, call (e.g., with calling unit 912) the local emergency dispatcher telephone number.

In some embodiments, prior to determining or obtaining a determination of the local emergency dispatcher telephone number, device 900 ascertains (e.g., with ascertaining unit 914) the geographic location of device 900.

In some embodiments, determining or obtaining a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call comprises determining (e.g., with ambiguity determining unit 916) or obtaining a determination (e.g., with obtaining unit 902) of whether the speech input unambiguously expresses a user request for making an emergency call. In some embodiments, in response to a determination that the speech input unambiguously expresses a user request for an emergency call, without further user input, device 900 calls (e.g., with calling unit 912) the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality. In response to a determination that the speech input does not unambiguously express a user request for an emergency call, prior to calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality, device 900 provides the user with a notification (e.g., with notification providing unit 920) and an affordance (e.g., with affordance providing unit 918) for confirming the user's request for making an emergency call.

In some embodiments, determining or obtaining a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call comprises determining (e.g., with number determining unit 910) or obtaining a determination (e.g., with obtaining unit 902) that the speech input is a user request for calling a first emergency number. In some embodiments, determining or obtaining a determination of a local emergency dispatcher telephone number based on a geographic location of device 900 comprises determining (e.g., with number determining unit 910) or obtaining a determination (e.g., with obtaining unit 902) of a second emergency number. In some embodiments, when the first emergency number is distinct from the second emergency number, calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality comprises calling (e.g., with calling unit 912) the second emergency number.

In some embodiments, prior to calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number, device 900 provides a notification (e.g., with notification providing unit 920) to the user that device 900 will promptly call the local emergency dispatcher telephone number and, while providing the notification, device 900 provides an affordance (e.g., with affordance providing unit 918) for the user to cancel the request for making an emergency call.

The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, the illustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles and practical applications of the disclosed ideas, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize them with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of operating a digital assistant to provide emergency call functionality, comprising: at a device having memory and one or more processors: receiving a speech input from a user; determining or obtaining a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call; determining or obtaining a determination of a local emergency dispatcher telephone number based on a geographic location of the device; and in response to determining or obtaining a determination that the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call, calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the device has an active data connection.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the device does not have an active connection to a subscribed telephone service, but does have access to a baseband telephone service.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the device does not have an operating SIM card.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the device does not have a SIM card that is compatible with any telephony service available at the device's current location.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: prior to determining or obtaining a determination of the local emergency dispatcher telephone number, ascertaining the geographic location of the device.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the emergency dispatcher telephone number is one of a plurality of emergency dispatcher telephone numbers stored on the device.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein determining or obtaining a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call comprises determining or obtaining a determination of whether the speech input unambiguously expresses a user request for making an emergency call; in response to a determination that the speech input unambiguously expresses a user request for an emergency call, without further user input, calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality; and in response to a determination that the speech input does not unambiguously express a user request for an emergency call, prior to calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality, providing the user with a notification and an affordance for confirming the user's request for making an emergency call.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein determining or obtaining a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call comprises determining or obtaining a determination that the speech input is a user request for calling a first emergency number; wherein determining or obtaining a determination of a local emergency dispatcher telephone number based on a geographic location of the device comprises determining or obtaining a determination of a second emergency number; and wherein, when the first emergency number is distinct from the second emergency number, calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality comprises calling the second emergency number.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: prior to calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number, providing a notification to the user that the device will promptly call the local emergency dispatcher telephone number; and while providing the notification, providing an affordance for the user to cancel the request for making an emergency call.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing a limited natural language processing module within the digital assistant, wherein the limited natural language processing module differs from a primary natural language processing module used by the digital assistant during normal operation, and wherein the limited natural language processing module is tailored to recognize speech inputs for invoking the emergency call functionality.
 12. A device, comprising: one or more processors; memory; and one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions to: receive a speech input from a user; determine or obtain a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call; determine or obtain a determination of a local emergency dispatcher telephone number based on a geographic location of the device; and in response to determining or obtaining a determination that the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call, call the local emergency dispatcher telephone number.
 13. The device of claim 12, wherein the device has an active data connection.
 14. The device of claim 12, wherein the device does not have an active connection to a subscribed telephone service, but does have access to a baseband telephone service.
 15. The device of claim 12, the one or more programs further comprising instructions to, prior to determining or obtaining a determination of the local emergency dispatcher telephone number, ascertain the geographic location of the device.
 16. The device of claim 12, wherein the emergency dispatcher telephone number is one of a plurality of emergency dispatcher telephone numbers stored on the device.
 17. The device of claim 12, wherein determining or obtaining a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call comprises determining or obtaining a determination of whether the speech input unambiguously expresses a user request for making an emergency call; and wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions to: in response to a determination that the speech input unambiguously expresses a user request for an emergency call, without further user input, call the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality; and in response to a determination that the speech input does not unambiguously express a user request for an emergency call, prior to calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality, provide the user with a notification and an affordance for confirming the user's request for making an emergency call.
 18. The device of claim 12, wherein determining or obtaining a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call comprises determining or obtaining a determination that the speech input is a user request for calling a first emergency number; wherein determining or obtaining a determination of a local emergency dispatcher telephone number based on a geographic location of the device comprises determining or obtaining a determination of a second emergency number; and wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions to, when the first emergency number is distinct from the second emergency number, call the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality comprises calling the second emergency number.
 19. The device of claim 12, wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions to: prior to calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number, provide a notification to the user that the device will promptly call the local emergency dispatcher telephone number; and while providing the notification, provide an affordance for the user to cancel the request for making an emergency call.
 20. The device of claim 12, wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions to provide a limited natural language processing module within the digital assistant, wherein the limited natural language processing module differs from a primary natural language processing module used by the digital assistant during normal operation, and wherein the limited natural language processing module is tailored to recognize speech inputs for invoking the emergency call functionality.
 21. The device of claim 12, wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions to: determine whether the device is currently authorized to make non-emergency telephone calls using a cellular service available at the current geographic location of the device; and in response to determining that the device is not currently authorized to make non-emergency telephone calls using a cellular service available at the current geographic location of the device, invoke the limited natural language processing module to process the speech input.
 22. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by an electronic device, cause the device to: receive a speech input from a user; determine or obtain a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call; determine or obtain a determination of a local emergency dispatcher telephone number based on a geographic location of the device; and in response to determining or obtaining a determination that the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call, call the local emergency dispatcher telephone number.
 23. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein the instructions to determine or obtain a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call include instructions to obtain, from a remote server, via an active data connection, a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call.
 24. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein the one or more programs include instructions to call the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using a baseband telephone service when the device does not have an active connection to a subscribed telephone service.
 25. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 22, the one or more programs further comprising instructions to, prior to determining or obtaining a determination of the local emergency dispatcher telephone number, ascertain the geographic location of the device.
 26. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein the emergency dispatcher telephone number is one of a plurality of emergency dispatcher telephone numbers stored on the device.
 27. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein determining or obtaining a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call comprises determining or obtaining a determination of whether the speech input unambiguously expresses a user request for making an emergency call; and wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions to: in response to a determination that the speech input unambiguously expresses a user request for an emergency call, without further user input, call the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality; and in response to a determination that the speech input does not unambiguously express a user request for an emergency call, prior to calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality, provide the user with a notification and an affordance for confirming the user's request for making an emergency call.
 28. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein determining or obtaining a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call comprises determining or obtaining a determination that the speech input is a user request for calling a first emergency number; wherein determining or obtaining a determination of a local emergency dispatcher telephone number based on a geographic location of the device comprises determining or obtaining a determination of a second emergency number; and wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions to, when the first emergency number is distinct from the second emergency number, call the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality comprises calling the second emergency number.
 29. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions to: prior to calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number, provide a notification to the user that the device will promptly call the local emergency dispatcher telephone number; and while providing the notification, provide an affordance for the user to cancel the request for making an emergency call.
 30. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions to provide a limited natural language processing module within the digital assistant, wherein the limited natural language processing module differs from a primary natural language processing module used by the digital assistant during normal operation, and wherein the limited natural language processing module is tailored to recognize speech inputs for invoking the emergency call functionality. 